Board of Directors

Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born September 11, 1945 in Munich) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed “Der Kaiser” (The Emperor) because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name “Franz” (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and one of the greatest and most decorated footballers in the history of the game winning sides. He went on to become coach and president of the institution. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

In 1999, he was voted second place, behind Johan Cruyff, in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and he was voted third, behind Pelé and Cruyff, in the IFFHS’ “World Player of the Century” election. Today, Beckenbauer remains an influential figure in both German and international football. He led Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup and chaired the organizing committee.

Mário Zagallo

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (born August 9, 1931 in Maceió) is a Brazilian former football player and manager.

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born in Maceió, Alagoas, to a family of Lebanese and Italian heritage.

Zagallo started his footballer career in América in 1948. He was the first footballer to win the World Cup as a player (1958, 1962), as a manager (1970), and as assistant coach (World Cup 1994), all with the Brazilian national team. He also coached his country to a fourth-place finish in the 1974 World Cup and to a second-place finish in the 1998 World Cup.

Pelé

Edison “Edson” Arantes do Nascimento KBE (born October 21 or 23 1940), best known by his nickname Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese) is a retired Brazilian footballer. scored 760 official goals, 541 in league champion-ships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games

In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil .During his career, he became known as “The King of Football” (O Rei do Futebol), “The King Pelé” (O Rei Pelé) or simply “The King” (O Rei).

Spotted by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17.

Carlos Alberto Torres

Carlos Alberto Torres (born July 17, 1944, Rio de Janeiro) is a former Brazilian footballer, one of the most highly regarded defenders of all time. He captained Brazil to victory in the 1970 World Cup and is a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, as well as the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Carlos Alberto was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Carlos Alberto joined Fluminese at the age of 19. He made a name for himself in his first season, not only because of his great tackling and reading of the game, but also for his outstanding ball control, dribbling and playmaking abilities, which were quite rare at the time for a defender. In 1966, he moved to Santos, where he became Pelé’s teammate. In 1974, he returned to Fluminense and helped the team capture two consecutive Carioca championships. In 1977.

In 1977, despite a great career in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Torres decided to move to the New York Cosmos. He arrived on the day of the New York City blackout where he was reunited with his friend and partner Pelé and helped the Cosmos capture two consecutive titles in 1977 and 1978. After spending one year with the California Surf, he returned to the Cosmos in 1982 where he won his third NASL title. He played his farewell game on September 28, 1982 in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and his former club Flamingo. In 119 regular season games and 26 playoff games, Carlos scored a total of 8 goals and was an NASL All-Star five times.